Page 16 of Salvation

Jessica Macks? The one she’d been tipped off about?

“Hi,” Anna offered, suddenly feeling very much an outsider. She and her cousin had always been close, but Sarah seemed to have started a whole new life that Anna played no part in. A man, a baby, a new job, new friends…

“And this is Teddy,” Sarah said, showing off her baby.

A pang went through Anna, as it always did when she hadn’t prepared herself for cozy mother-baby scenes. Most of the time, she was able to steel herself in advance, but sometimes, she wasn’t ready, and the sense of loss would hit her out of the blue.

I was supposed to be a mom, too,a voice in the back of her mind murmured sadly.

She saw Sarah freeze and shoot her an apologetic look. Anna still had the little pink blanket her cousin had made for her, eight years ago. A blanket she never got to use because she’d miscarried that baby. She’d miscarried a second time, too.

She forced a smile. This was an occasion to celebrate, not a time to mourn something that wasn’t meant to be. And clearly, Sarah and Soren were meant to be.

Anna tickled the baby’s ruddy cheek and cooed. “Gonna be a big boy someday.”

Sarah laughed, relieved. “That’s for sure.”

“Just like his daddy,” Anna continued.

Sarah’s face fell, and she wondered why.

“We’re just closing up, but you’re welcome to hang out for a while,” Jessica said quickly.

They took a corner table, sipped tea, nibbled the best raspberry-chocolate muffins Anna had ever tried, and talked. About easy things to begin with, then the harder parts.

Sarah, it seemed, had moved to Arizona, hooked back up with Soren, and started all over again. Soren and his brother, Simon, ran the saloon next door, and Jessica ran the café. Sarah did the accounting for both places, just like she used to do for her parents’ shop, and Jessica’s sister, Janna, waitressed, too.

They were one big, cozy family. Anna bit back a wistful sigh.

That was the easy part of the conversation.

“What happened, Sarah?” Anna whispered when she was down to her last sip of tea. She hadn’t overlooked the burn scars on her cousin’s hands, nor the long, pink line where a flame had scored her forearm. “How did you get out?”

Sarah shook her head and hugged the baby closer.

“Sorry if you don’t want to talk about it…” Anna rushed to add. “It’s just that everyone told me you were dead, and I was so sure you weren’t, but I didn’t hear from you for so long…”

Sarah took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry. I knew I could trust you, but I didn’t want to drag you into my mess.”

“I’d help you with anything, Sarah. You know that.”

Sarah’s eyes grew distant. Frightened. “You couldn’t have helped me. You would only have put yourself in danger, too.”

Danger? Anna looked around. This place seemed so peaceful, so secure.

The sentiment must have shown on her face, because Sarah leaned in. “We’re okay now. It’s all good. But there was a scary time…” She trailed off, then recomposed her face and struck a cheerier tone. “We’re good now. Everything is okay.”

She looked like she truly meant it, so Anna didn’t push the topic.

“I’m sorry for just turning up out of the blue. Seems like you’ve had a busy morning.”

Sarah patted the baby’s bottom and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “Yeah, you can say that. But God, it’s great to see you.”

Anna laughed. “It’s great to see you.”

“How did you find me, anyway?”

Anna told her about Cynthia’s call and Sally James having spotted Jessica Macks — at which point the broom that had been whisking quietly behind them stopped abruptly. Sarah and Jessica exchanged worried looks but they didn’t say anything, so Anna finished up with her drive from Virginia.

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